Williamsburg Update: The Greenway

Great news for recreation in Williamsburg! Over the past few weeks crews have been busy developing the Brooklyn Greenway along the waterfront on Kent Avenue. Don’t know much about the Greenway and why this is exciting for joggers, walkers and cyclists? Here’s a little background from the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative’s website:﻿

In 1993, the Brooklyn Waterfront Trail was identified as a priority route in the Department of City Planning’s Greenway Plan for New York City, which outlined a vision for a citywide 350-mile network of greenways. The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway project area now spans 14 miles of Brooklyn waterfront, from Sunset Park to Newtown Creek in Greenpoint.

The minimum right-of-way sought for the finished Greenway is 30 feet, in order to accommodate two 7-ft. bike lanes, a 10-ft pedestrian path and 6 ft of landscaping.

When completed, it will provide a human scale connection between numerous waterfront communities now divided by highways and transit infrastructure. Benefits will include more waterfront access, better quality of life, healthier lifestyles, more diverse transportation options, and increased economic development, as more people find Brooklyn a desirable place to live or relocate their business.

So now the stretch of Kent Avenue from N. 14th Street down to Clymer Street has been re-zoned to one-way traffic only going in a northerly direction. This has freed up the side of the street closest to the river for recreational purposes and has already been painted with wide green lines to accommodate cyclists. This takes the large 18-wheelers off this road, reduces major traffic, and allows for a safer area to ride or run. Runners, note that the green path is intended to be a bike lane, so if you choose to run here please be mindful of cyclists and their right to use the route.

For more news about this project, take a look at this article from The Brooklyn Paper. I look forward to seeing this extended farther north into Greenpoint!